Gallery: Raf Simons’ First Haute Couture Show For Christian Dior!

It’s the moment* we’ve all been waiting for: Raf Simons‘ debut haute couture collection for Christian Dior walked in Paris yesterday. On a set covered from floor to ceiling with flowers, Simons sent out a collection of deceptively minimal femininity molded into the house of Dior’s iconic silhouettes. Critics have already declared it a success, with Cathy Horynwriting:

“At a time when much of high fashion is highly influenced by image, whether iconic photographs from 1950s couture or new manipulated digital images, Mr. Simons’s debut essentially asks people to trust their own eye. His clothes are often so simple that you have to look at them for a while before you see the small gesture or the magisterial way of sleeveless black crepe falls over the body. He gets the most and the best out of couture, and this is just the start.”

All the more impressive, considering the unfathomable pressure Simons must have been under: 1) this was his first show since being unceremoniously fired from Jil Sander and 2) he’s replacing one of the most famous (and talented) couture designers of recent history, the disgracedJohn Galliano. Oh, and 3) this was Simons’ first couture collection ever.

(All photos via Wenn)

(*The first of two, technically, with the other being Hedi Slimane‘s debut for Saint Laurent Paris)